The Day of the Trifids by John Wyndham

I have started reading a series of books on the theme It's the End of the World! What fun! An entertaining diversion from the literary novels I usually read.

This is a fun book. A little subdued by modern standards (first published in 1951), it has a lot in common with the work of H. G. Wells. Everybody knows the story: Everyone on earth goes blind after viewing the breakup of a comet in the night skies. Was it really a comet, or something man-made? Only a few lucky individuals escape with their sight intact.

The collapse of human society gives the mysterious plants called the triffids an advantage. Where did the triffids come from? No one knows, but they are carnivorous, ambulatory, and sentient. Creepy stuff. The novel draws on the fright about global destruction in the fifties. But it is still relevant today, and a lot of fun to read.